It is time once again for the Annual DeStash-Along, the year long celebration of all the materials we keep on hand. Whether we’re stocking up for the zombie apocalypse or just indulging in magpie tendencies, we crafters have a tendency to amass supplies at a faster rate than we can make new projects. And there’s nothing wrong with that!
Everyone has their own motivation for crafting from stash. Some are trying to reduce its volume. Others are trying to be frugal. Still others just want some extra motivation to finally use the amazing materials they have hoarded along their crafting journey. This place is for everyone! It’s not about feeling ashamed of our stash, it’s about celebrating and using them!
We post monthly challenges for extra inspiration along the way. If they help get your creative juices flowing, that’s fantastic. If you don’t feel inspired by them, just craft as you please. But share your crafts and your pictures because we all want to see the amazing things you make.
February Prompts
Color: Red or Pink
Pattern: dots, spots, and circles
For: a loved one
Challenge: Is there a supply that you love so much that you can’t bring yourself to actually use? This is the month! Make something super special to showcase how wonderful that supply is and be sure to tell us its origin story and what you like so much about it.
January Prompts
Color: White/Clear
Pattern: Rows! Similar to stripes but with repeating images, motifs, or items
For: Fresh Starts and Blank Slates, orderliness, and ease
Challenge: Replace that old, ratty whatever with a newly made one. If something doesn’t fit – whether it’s too big, too long, too loose, too small, too short, too tight, or too not-the-right-style/look/vibe/color – modify it or create a new one that does fit the body, room, occasion, season, function, purpose.
Bonus Challenge: What are your DeStash Goals for this year? Is it to clear off a shelf? Save money? X number of items used or crafts made? A no or low buy? Let us know! We’ll have quarterly check-ins to see what sort of progress we’re all making. Feel free to introduce yourself, share your motivation, and/or pictures of your amazing stash!
Pattern: Rows! Similar to stripes but with repeating images, motifs, or items
For: Fresh Starts and Blank Slates, orderliness, and ease
Challenge: Replace that old, ratty whatever with a newly made one. If something doesn’t fit – whether it’s too big, too long, too loose, too small, too short, too tight, or too not-the-right-style/look/vibe/color – modify it or create a new one that does fit the body, room, occasion, season, function, purpose.
Bonus Challenge: What are your DeStash Goals for this year? Is it to clear off a shelf? Save money? X number of items used or crafts made? A no or low buy? Let us know! We’ll have quarterly check-ins to see what sort of progress we’re all making. Feel free to introduce yourself, share your motivation, and/or pictures of your amazing stash!
Yes! I started a Use The Good Stuff swap today! I have so many lovely little treasures & special fabric, I’m starting the year off with intentions to use that awesome stuff. As @edel reminded me, it’s such a pleasure to use beautiful supplies. That’s what crafting is all about for me after all, enjoying the process, creating things that get my heart singing.
My destash Goals for this year are to:
-Use the good stuff!
-Bust all the WIPS!
-Get the craft rooms under control.
-Take on realistic new projects & really only the ones I truly want to do, or at least minimizing the whims.
-Low/no buy.
-Craft for charity
-Stockpile handmade gifts
-Teach some classes.
You know I’m here for the party. Thanks for setting it up and nice to see you back!
Main goal: To create a stash that suits the space and my interests. Reducing/using up supplies that have languished or been overlooked. Giving room to breathe to all the types of supplies so that I can actually see and use what I have and not lose things to eternity because they’re buried so long they are no longer usable or buried so long that I am buried before anyone sees them!
Awwww yeah! So glad you’re back and already have this going for the year! WOOT!
My first finished project of the year is an all-stasher and I used up alllll of the Snotex I had - which is white - to get it done. I use my stash a lot, but I feel like I hardly ever use anything up, ya’ know? Anyway, here’s my Santa Globe which wasn’t done in time for the holiday this year, but was done in time to put it away with the holiday decorations.
Bonus Challenge Stuff: I would like to put a real dent in the scrap wood stash that was mostly acquired this year from a neighbor who was moving. I would like to not add fabric-just-because to my fabric stash.
AIMR
(Linda -2023 is a use the good stuff year! :us:)
#10
I am currently working on a white-ish sweater from my stash…and it is rows and rows of crochet! lol
Bonus challenge: I have so much stuff collected for junk journals when, in reality, I am just not into making junk journals. I really want to pare down most of the “trash” I have been saving but actually doing something with it or throwing it out.
Over the holidays, I did throw out at least 15 flattened Cheezit boxes…this is one of my husband’s favorite snacks so I doubt I could not grab one anytime I needed it out of the recycle…I use them to make covers of journals, but again, no need to save that many!
I’ll have to resist the temptation to fold it all into my hoard, erm, stash. I’m sure there are some really precious bits & bobs that will be perfect for Use The Good Stuff swap!
My goal this year is to intentionally use more of my stash, particularly yarn. I rearranged rooms recently so my craft room got downsized to a half room that I share with my WFH station now. I was able to fit all my yarn into 2 bins, but it’s a tight squeeze so I need to free up space. I’ve been making knit gift bags for future gifting so that’s slowly working away on some random small balls of yarn lol. Slow and steady, right?
